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6TH YEAR NO. II SERVING GAY MEN AND WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION NOVEMBER, 1975
GAA Earns Praise
Nat'l Conference Held
Over the Columbus Day weekend
more than 450 gay women and men
from all over the nation arrived in
Washington, D.C. for" the Bicentennial
Conference on "Gays and the Federal
Government" sponsored by the Gay
Activists Alliance of D.C. Conference
organizers earned praise for the program
content as well as the massive under­taking
of providing meals and housing
for out-of-town conferees. Representa­tives
from the D.C. area constituted
only about 15% of those registered.
Participants from as far away as Seattle
and San Diego joined in discussing
issues, exchanging ideas and information,
and planning §1rategies.
Jim Zais, Conference Coordinator,
stated that the conference had been
much more successful than its organizers
had expected. He had been very im­pressed
with the seriousness with which
speakers had prepared their presenta­tions
and the high level of discourse
these presentations elicited among all
participants. Zais also indicated that this
conference seemed to mark a turning
point in the willingness of gay men and
women to work together toward
common ends.
DUBERMAN, NOLL OPEN
CONFERENCE
The Bicentennial Conference opened
on Saturday morning amid much excite­ment
and optimism with a statement of
goals by Conference Coordinator Jim
Zais. Councilman Marion Barry of the
District of Columbia gave a short speech
praising the conference and giVIng
encouragement to those actively working
for political and legal change.
The opening session was addressed by
Professor Martin Duberman, Dis·
tinguished Professor of History, Lehman
College, City University of New York,
and Professor Dolores N oil, Associate
Professor of English, Kent State Univer­sity.
Professor Duberma.n made a presen-
Gov. Shapp Vetoes
Anti-Gay Proposal
Pa. Gov. Milton J. Shapp
Pennsylvania Governor Milton J.
Shapp vetoed a bill on October 21
which would have banned homosexuals
from some state jobs, calling the bill
"vindictive ... and a setback for the
cause of fair and equal opportunity."
The measure, passed unanimously by
the state senate, would have applied to
anyone convicted of or admitting to
deviate sexual intercourse, as defmed by
state law. Under the bill, such persons
could not work as policemen, prison
guards, or with the mentally handi­capped
or juveniles.
"But such duties are never defmed in
this bill," Shapp said. "Under its terms
such duties could be as remote as
handling paperwork or secretarial func-
'tions."
In vetoing the bill, Shapp said, "All
my life, I have fought to end barriers of
discrimination against persons or groups.
At this time I do not in tend to traffic in
demagoguery and reaction by signing a
bill so clearly unfair." Shapp added that
the proposal was "the worst written bill
I have received in five years as gover-nor."
Pennsylvania Attorney General
Robert P. Kane, in an official opinion,
said that the bill was unconstitutional
because it was overly broad and could
abridge the right to free speech. Kane
said that although the bill was aimed at
homosexuals, it also affected hetero­sexuals
besause of the defmition the
criminal code gives to "deviant sexual
intercourse." The code prohibits oral­and
anal intercourse between persons
other than a married couple. "As the
prohibited activities according to all
studies are very common, this bill would
cirscumscribe the public employment of
very large segments of the Pennsylvania
population , at least if they are open
continued on P!lgc 13
INSIDE THE BLADE
Nitelife .................. p. 8
Limelite ................. p. 11
Calendar ................. p. 15
Special Features:
Rape Prevention ............ p. 14
Point of View .............. p. 2
Arlie_Scott, Frank Robertson of United Unitarian Gay Caucus. interviewed by Blade Reporter.
tation on the "Changing Attitudes in
America Towards Gay People." In dis­cussing
this topic, he reviewed his
tentative conclusions about the latest
gay media event, the proceedings in­volving
T./Sgt. Leonard Matlovich's
request to remain in the Air Force as an
admitted homosexual. Duberman sugges­ted
that the hearing board's decision to
give Matlovich a general discharge was
based not on civil rights or his character
but on the board's attitude that homo­sexuality
is immoral. Duberman specu-lated
that this attitude was also repre·
sen ta tive of American society· s views.
Professor Noll pointed out that, in
the past, there had been a. tendency for
the gay movement to identify too much
with other minority struggles. Because
gays can pass as non-gay. there is a
significant difference between gay
oppression and the oppres'>ion of other
minorities. She talked about the choice
of staying in the do~et and the resulting
anxieties of pretending to be something
continued on pa~l 12
N.O.W Resolves to .
SUpport Gay Rights
The N a tiona] Organization for
Women, in its annual meeting in Phila­delphia
on October 26, unanimously
passed a resolution that "the
accomplishment of equal rights for
lesbians be designated as a national
priority" of the group. This resolution
included a pledge to coordinate strate­gies
on both a local and national level to
secure passage of the Abzug Bill, H.R.
5454, guaranteeing civil rights for gays.
The resolution stated that N.O.W. is
"committed to the principle that all
women have an absolute right to full
equality under the law, and ... abridge­ment
of the basic rights of any woman
diminishes the freedom of all of
us .... "
Karen DeCrow was reelected to the
presidency of the organization after
surviving the first serious challenge to an L
Koren DeCrow- N.Q.W.
incumbent in the group's history. An the movement." She added, "Our failure
advocate of gay rights, DeCrow ran on has been in not seeing the connection
the slogan "out of the mainstream, into between sexual stereotyping and fear of
the revolution." In a keynote address to gay people."
the convention, DeCrow publicly apolo- In summing up the new N.O.W.
gized to gay men and women, as well as philosophy, DeCrow stated..-"This is not
men in general, for what she termed "a a women's movement. This is a people's
lot of sexist stuff going on right now in movement."

6TH YEAR NO. II SERVING GAY MEN AND WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION NOVEMBER, 1975
GAA Earns Praise
Nat'l Conference Held
Over the Columbus Day weekend
more than 450 gay women and men
from all over the nation arrived in
Washington, D.C. for" the Bicentennial
Conference on "Gays and the Federal
Government" sponsored by the Gay
Activists Alliance of D.C. Conference
organizers earned praise for the program
content as well as the massive under­taking
of providing meals and housing
for out-of-town conferees. Representa­tives
from the D.C. area constituted
only about 15% of those registered.
Participants from as far away as Seattle
and San Diego joined in discussing
issues, exchanging ideas and information,
and planning §1rategies.
Jim Zais, Conference Coordinator,
stated that the conference had been
much more successful than its organizers
had expected. He had been very im­pressed
with the seriousness with which
speakers had prepared their presenta­tions
and the high level of discourse
these presentations elicited among all
participants. Zais also indicated that this
conference seemed to mark a turning
point in the willingness of gay men and
women to work together toward
common ends.
DUBERMAN, NOLL OPEN
CONFERENCE
The Bicentennial Conference opened
on Saturday morning amid much excite­ment
and optimism with a statement of
goals by Conference Coordinator Jim
Zais. Councilman Marion Barry of the
District of Columbia gave a short speech
praising the conference and giVIng
encouragement to those actively working
for political and legal change.
The opening session was addressed by
Professor Martin Duberman, Dis·
tinguished Professor of History, Lehman
College, City University of New York,
and Professor Dolores N oil, Associate
Professor of English, Kent State Univer­sity.
Professor Duberma.n made a presen-
Gov. Shapp Vetoes
Anti-Gay Proposal
Pa. Gov. Milton J. Shapp
Pennsylvania Governor Milton J.
Shapp vetoed a bill on October 21
which would have banned homosexuals
from some state jobs, calling the bill
"vindictive ... and a setback for the
cause of fair and equal opportunity."
The measure, passed unanimously by
the state senate, would have applied to
anyone convicted of or admitting to
deviate sexual intercourse, as defmed by
state law. Under the bill, such persons
could not work as policemen, prison
guards, or with the mentally handi­capped
or juveniles.
"But such duties are never defmed in
this bill," Shapp said. "Under its terms
such duties could be as remote as
handling paperwork or secretarial func-
'tions."
In vetoing the bill, Shapp said, "All
my life, I have fought to end barriers of
discrimination against persons or groups.
At this time I do not in tend to traffic in
demagoguery and reaction by signing a
bill so clearly unfair." Shapp added that
the proposal was "the worst written bill
I have received in five years as gover-nor."
Pennsylvania Attorney General
Robert P. Kane, in an official opinion,
said that the bill was unconstitutional
because it was overly broad and could
abridge the right to free speech. Kane
said that although the bill was aimed at
homosexuals, it also affected hetero­sexuals
besause of the defmition the
criminal code gives to "deviant sexual
intercourse." The code prohibits oral­and
anal intercourse between persons
other than a married couple. "As the
prohibited activities according to all
studies are very common, this bill would
cirscumscribe the public employment of
very large segments of the Pennsylvania
population , at least if they are open
continued on P!lgc 13
INSIDE THE BLADE
Nitelife .................. p. 8
Limelite ................. p. 11
Calendar ................. p. 15
Special Features:
Rape Prevention ............ p. 14
Point of View .............. p. 2
Arlie_Scott, Frank Robertson of United Unitarian Gay Caucus. interviewed by Blade Reporter.
tation on the "Changing Attitudes in
America Towards Gay People." In dis­cussing
this topic, he reviewed his
tentative conclusions about the latest
gay media event, the proceedings in­volving
T./Sgt. Leonard Matlovich's
request to remain in the Air Force as an
admitted homosexual. Duberman sugges­ted
that the hearing board's decision to
give Matlovich a general discharge was
based not on civil rights or his character
but on the board's attitude that homo­sexuality
is immoral. Duberman specu-lated
that this attitude was also repre·
sen ta tive of American society· s views.
Professor Noll pointed out that, in
the past, there had been a. tendency for
the gay movement to identify too much
with other minority struggles. Because
gays can pass as non-gay. there is a
significant difference between gay
oppression and the oppres'>ion of other
minorities. She talked about the choice
of staying in the do~et and the resulting
anxieties of pretending to be something
continued on pa~l 12
N.O.W Resolves to .
SUpport Gay Rights
The N a tiona] Organization for
Women, in its annual meeting in Phila­delphia
on October 26, unanimously
passed a resolution that "the
accomplishment of equal rights for
lesbians be designated as a national
priority" of the group. This resolution
included a pledge to coordinate strate­gies
on both a local and national level to
secure passage of the Abzug Bill, H.R.
5454, guaranteeing civil rights for gays.
The resolution stated that N.O.W. is
"committed to the principle that all
women have an absolute right to full
equality under the law, and ... abridge­ment
of the basic rights of any woman
diminishes the freedom of all of
us .... "
Karen DeCrow was reelected to the
presidency of the organization after
surviving the first serious challenge to an L
Koren DeCrow- N.Q.W.
incumbent in the group's history. An the movement." She added, "Our failure
advocate of gay rights, DeCrow ran on has been in not seeing the connection
the slogan "out of the mainstream, into between sexual stereotyping and fear of
the revolution." In a keynote address to gay people."
the convention, DeCrow publicly apolo- In summing up the new N.O.W.
gized to gay men and women, as well as philosophy, DeCrow stated..-"This is not
men in general, for what she termed "a a women's movement. This is a people's
lot of sexist stuff going on right now in movement."